Principles of Islam
19. Greater Jihad
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19. GREATER JIHAD
Jihad
is regularly misconstrued as war, with all its
connotations of violence and bloodshed. However,
in the Islamic context, and in literal sense, the word
jihad
simply means a struggle – doing one’s utmost
to further a worthy cause. This is an entirely
peaceful struggle, with no overtones even of
aggression. The actual Arabic equivalent of war is
qital,
and even this is meant in a defensive sense.
According to Islamic teachings,
jihad
is of two kinds.
One is with the self
(jihad bin nafs),
that is, making
the maximum effort to keep control over negative
feelings in one’s self, for instance, arrogance,
jealousy, greed, revenge, anger, etc. The
psychological efforts to lead such a life of restraint
are what
jihad bin nafs
is about. In social life, it
happens time and again that all sorts of base,
negative feelings well up within a man, causing him
to lead his life succumbing to desires and
temptations. The internal effort made in such a
situation to overcome the temptations of the self
and to continue to lead a life guided by principles is
the truly Islamic
jihad bin nafs.
